Yesterday's Menu Post: Week Beginning 21 June

I began putting this post together last night....and then had to go out so forgot to come back to it. LOL

Wow! I've reached a milestone. Thirty-five followers. The numbers fluctuate a little here and there, but I'm feeling just a little bit chuffed. Silly, in the grand scheme of what's important in life but it's a nice little surprise when I finally find two seconds to check out comments and other favourite blogs!

We're in our last week of school, with all the flurry and excitement that goes along with the anticipation of a three week mid-year break. The kids are all pretty tired, mind you, as are the staff. But still. Three blissful weeks of sleeping in and relaxing. YES! There are some beautiful blessings to working in education!

This week's menu is a little short. We've lots of plans over the weekend and so have the amazing blessing of not having to plan for those three days. I'm telling you, I'm very easily pleased!

Monday: Chicken casserole, potato & mushroom gratin
Tuesday: Oven fried chicken, vegies
Wednesday: Baked potatoes, coleslaw, cheese, bacon
Thursday: Pasta bolognaise

There you have it...four very boring days of meals!

I was very proud of myself yesterday. I managed to cook myself something to take for lunch, have breakfast, make the kid's lunches and then put dinner in the crockpot in preparation for staying late at school for our fortnightly staff meeting. Then whadayaknow? No staff meeting!!!!!!! We still ended up getting home late, by the time I'd finished typing up psychology flash cards and chatting to the Library Teacher about the upcoming school holidays. So my crockpot efficiency and organisation was not totally in vain.

'Life in Defiance' by Mary E DeMuth

Rel has posted my review for 'Life in Defiance' here. Mary DeMuth is an incredible author! She cuts right to the heart of really tough real-life stuff, and yet her prose is so beautiful that it makes a heartbreaking story that much easier to continue on with. Ousie Pepper's story is one of sorrow, pain and longing. Her journey taught me so much about the mindset of a battered and abused wife.

I have been waiting a long time to find out who killed Daisy Chance, all the way back since I read 'Daisy Chain'! In 'Life in Defiance' Daisy's murderer is revealed, finally. Slowly. Piece by little piece.

Whilst I would highly recommend the Defiance Texas Trilogy, I do so with a word of caution. These stories are challenging. Mary writes about very real, very hard life stories. I cried my way through much of the book. The heaviness I felt after reading 'A Slow Burn' (book 2) remains with me, months down the track. But these books are entirely worth the read. Mary tackles really important issues that must be faced head-on. And Mary brings out the classic Creation, Fall, Redemption perspective of a Biblical worldview.

Recipe Review

Photo thanks to nigella.com

I tried a new 'Nigella Express' recipe tonight. Mellow Meatballs were all the name promised. A tasty, delicious meal in a relatively express timeframe. Miss Mischief was happy that chickpeas were part of the ingredients list. I was happy that I still had some homemade stock on my fridge...as well as all the other store cupboard ingredients for this recipe, thanks to our delight in Nigella's prawn and mango curry recipe. To add to my enthusiasm for making this meal tonight, the meat was already defrosted and in the fridge. So coming home after 5pm and having to start on dinner straight away was really not much of a problem! No waiting for meat to defrost in the microwave.

You know what? I didn't even fiddle with the recipe. Just did exactly what it said to do! This meal will end up on our menu plan over winter....absolutely. The bonus is that Dh & I have lunch for tomorrow and Dh had seconds tonight. That recipe went a really, really long way.

Monday Menu: Week Beginning 14 June

Today has dawned a gloriously sunny (but winter-cold!) public holiday. We have some friends coming over later in the day, but until then the day stretches out with many possibilities to be considered!

I've spent the morning menu planning and feel like I've not gotten very far. I think I need to go and get out a food magazine that I was given to get some inspiration. I started looking at it last night and decided that a magazine was hard to read in bed. A book is much more bed-friendly!

This week's menu plan is looking like this:

Monday: Minestrone, bread & butter, finger food, cherry clafoutis for dessert. Because visitors get dessert!
Tuesday: Mellow Meatballs, rice (thank you again Nigella!)
Wednesday: Chicken Parmigiana, potatoes, vegies
Thursday: Chicken Casserole, potato bake
Friday: Miss Sunshine's chicken noodle stir fry
Saturday: Chicken & Corn soup
Sunday: Homemade Pizza

We had dinner at a friend's place on Saturday night. Oh the delight of not cooking for just one evening! We spent Easter with this family, and so they got an intimate look at my wheat-free diet. When I asked if I could bring anything I was told to just enjoy the night off and my diet needs would be taken care of. Double delight!

We were served a deliciously moroccan inspired chicken & olive casserole served with rice instead of couscous....much as I love couscous, it's a no-go for me. I found a recipe that looks identical here. My friend added lemon juice and chopped parsley to the casserole just as she served it. I found a moroccan spice mix recipe here. My kids were uninterested in the olives....all the more for those of us who enjoyed them. To my surprise, Miss Mischief liked the chickpeas! We will be enjoying this meal at home sometime soon-ish.

Monday Menus: Week beginning 7 June

This past week has left me wondering. It's been a whole week since I last posted and I have truly had nothing much to say in that week. Why? Well....I spent the first half of last week reading 'Her Mother's Hope' by Francine Rivers, in time for Book Club on Friday night. I spent the remainder of the week studying...because I'd not done any for the previous few days! After all that self-inflicted pressure, I decided to spend yesterday in front of the fire place. With a good book...by Erynn Mangum. "Cool Beans" is full of sassy quips and vintage Erynn humour.

My greatest disappointment for the weekend? 'Nigella Feast' has finished. :( I hope the ABC decides to air another series of hers...if there is one. Otherwise I'll just have to save my pennies and buy the DVD's. And the matching books. And then find time to watch. Hmmmmm.

This coming weekend is the long Queen's Birthday weekend, here in Victoria. There is nothing more delicious than a day off from the routine of school lunches and early rising in the middle of long, long term. Actually, we're only a couple of weeks off the end of term....but it'll still be nice to have a day off. I am thinking some reading and baking might be the order of that day.

On our table this week:
Monday: Apricot chicken, vegies
Tuesday: A delve into the freezer
Wednesday: Roast pork, vegies
Thursday: Nachos
Friday: not sure yet. It will come to me
Saturday: Dinner at a friend's place
Sunday: Gnocchi

Seeing as how I'm in a bit of a blogging slump, perhaps you'd like to tell me what you enjoy reading? I might just be inspired again!